The highly anticipated skate park being constructed at San Francisco’s U.N. Plaza is slated to open on Nov. 8.
“Doing some finishing touches and it will be complete in time for next Wednesday’s opening,” Tamara Aparton, spokesperson for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, told The Standard in an email.
The changes to the 150,000-square-foot area include ramps, platforms and ledges, as well as chess and pingpong tables, according to the plans that were unveiled in July.
The pilot program’s goal, according to city officials, is to make U.N. Plaza—currently considered the epicenter of the city’s open drug market and overdose crisis—safer and more inviting to residents.
The plaza’s transformation comes as part of the city Planning Department’s Civic Center Public Realm Plan, which aims to better unify the area around Civic Center with public spaces, cultural events and improved access to public transportation.
The construction, however, received criticism as the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market, which has operated at the plaza for 42 years, was forced to relocate at the beginning of September across the street to Fulton between Larkin and Hyde streets.
The estimated cost of the U.N. Plaza renovations will end up being around $2 million, to be paid for by the Recreation and Park Department general fund.